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Tackling the real problems that face us

Tackling the real problems that face us

By Dave Duffy

Issue #134 • March/April, 2012

Thank goodness most of the apocalyptic scenarios the doom and gloomers talk about are either founded upon faulty premises or, if based on science, are extremely rare occurrences. That means we can turn our attention to solving the real problems that confront us. Here are three that are solvable:

The War against Terrorism

It used to be wars began and ended, but now we have the War against Terrorism, which is essentially a war without end because terrorists will never go away so long as there are people in the world who think they are being wronged.

President Reagan first used the term “war against terrorism” back in 1984, but it didn’t take on its “unending” aspect until September 11, 2001 when Osama bin Laden’s terrorists flew planes into the twin towers in New York City. To retaliate, we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, subjugating both countries, killing their leaders, and eventually killing bin Laden himself.

We’ve also waged a war against homegrown terrorists and terrorist sympathizers with legislation like the PATRIOT Act, which, in a nutshell, is legislation that drastically curtails our personal freedoms so that our government can better protect us against the terrorists they say want to kill us.

I’m an “eye for an eye” type of guy so I’m glad we killed bin Laden and dismantled his al-Qaeda network, but the main result I see after more than a decade of this war without end is that America’s citizens have had their freedoms stripped away. Now that we’ve clearly won the war, I don’t see many politicians calling for an end of the War against Terrorism. I think most of them want to keep it going, keep inventing more terrorists, and keep passing more laws that curtail our personal freedoms. The War against Terrorism has simply morphed into an everlasting excuse for government to control us.

Part of the solution is to end the War against Terrorism, close some of the 600 plus military bases we have in 120 countries, and repeal the PATRIOT Act.

The War on Drugs

The War on Drugs is essentially a war against our youth. It is a full employment scheme to keep our giant drug bureaucracy and our prison system in business. Surveys show the majority of Americans think it has failed and that some drugs, in particular marijuana, should be decriminalized or outright legalized.

A number of states have done so but they are butting heads with the federal government, which does not want to give up its power over the states and, ultimately, over us. The War on Drugs is part of what I increasingly see as a generational war waged by the older generations against our youth. Not only have we stolen their futures by forcing them to pay for Ponzi schemes like Social Security and Medicare, programs that will go bankrupt long before they can benefit from them, but we also imprison them wholesale for smoking a joint while we adults drink our booze with relative impunity. Some day our younger generations will wake up and realize what we old farts have been doing to them all these years. I don’t think they will treat kindly those of us who are still slurping from the public trough.

The march towards bankruptcy

Probably the most pressing problem is the current economic meltdown that appears to be engulfing Western Civilization. The European Union is already on the precipice, with Greece leading the way and Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland mere footsteps behind. Let’s hope the disintegration doesn’t lead to wars as the bankrupt nations descend into economic turmoil with high unemployment and a decline in standards of living. Add in some high inflation and you’ll have the conditions that allowed the fascists to rise to power and launch World War II.

America is close behind Europe. Our debt, too, is unsustainable. But instead of returning to the free enterprise system that has kept America solvent for most of its history, we’re heading down the same socialist road that first bankrupted the Soviet Union and now consumes Europe.

It may be too late for Europe, but the solution for America is to return to our free enterprise roots. Stop the overspending, cut government regulation so businesses can once again flourish and create jobs, and abandon this march into socialism.